A New Begining
by let.the.cards.fall
Summary: Leo woke up with no memories besides his name. He pops up in Board Manor, where the boys there called themselevs Boarders. But life in board manor is not as easy as it seems. A sickness is rapidly spreading, and no one can find a cure. And worse yet, the box comes up with a shocking and deadly note. Can Leo and the other Boarders escape the Maze?


Leo awoke with a start. He was blinded by a curtain of darkness, one that did not comfort him, rather thrust him away, saying, "I don't want you!"

He felt his way throughout his trapped environment. He was stuck in some sort of box, one that barely fit him inside. His head banged against the 5½ foot ceiling, as she struggled for fresh air. _Where am I?_ was all he could think.

He could feel the box moving upward, due to the heavy thunking sound, and a whoosh as the chains dragged him further and further upward still. He screamed until he could scream no more, the darkness erasing his humanity, his will to live. He pounded his fists on the walls, then his shoulder, and after they were bruised and cut his head, for he was trapped in the thick darkness. He called out for help through a shaky voice, even though his 6 foot figure was heavily muscled. Although he could not see his hands, he knew his skin tone was light.

And the minutes seemed like hours, as they slowly dragged on. He had given up all hope of getting some life forms' attention. He could feel the blood from his hands and head dripping onto the cold floor.

As if this wasn't enough, he couldn't remember anything that had happened before he awoke. He didn't know who his family was, or if he even had one. He had no idea if he had education or not, nor did he know of any friends he may have had. He had no further knowledge of where he was, other than the fact that he was in a moving box. All he knew for sure was this: _My name is Leo. I am 16, and I am alive._ And since this was his only knowledge, he repeated it as he sat in the dark.

Finally, _finally,_ the box came to a halt, and two doors slid open to reveal blinding sunlight. He could hear voices, distant ones, that cured the silence he had been experiencing the past few-however long it had been.

"Here he comes!"  
"Wonder who."

"Aw, will you Shags pin it?"

"I can't get a good look at 'em!"

"Who's the Rooker?"

"You splithead! That was my spot!"

All of the words came out of nowhere as the sun binded the speakers. The speakers were speaking in a language very similar to english, but with some words he didn't understand.

"QUIET!" an overlooming voice shouted, "Just get him out of there."

Three of the boys hoisted Leo out of the box and onto solid ground. Leo immediately found the boy who had screamed, as most of the boys were still staring at him.

The boy who yelled had tan skin, a bony face, big brown eyes, thick eyebrows, big muscles, and a tightly drawn mouth. His hair stuck straight up, the sides of his head shaved. He was shaking his head.

"Eddie," he said as he stuck his hand out.

"Leo," he said, shaking Eddie's hand firmly in an attempt to seem strong, but he knew his own expression was bleak.

Eddie turned to the rest of the boys and yelled, "Alright! This _tea party_ is over! Move it!"

All of the boys scurried off as Eddie turned back to Leo.

"Welcome to Board Manor," he said, "Where I have spent the last year of my life."

Leo studied the area. Board Manor was divided into 4 sections; agriculture, household, livestock, and the town square. Each section was divided by a clean line of concrete.

Eddie showed him the ropes and finally let him explore on his own. He quickly found solitude, which helped ease his nerves. Eddie found him again for one final talk.

"Enjoying the view?"  
No response.

"It isn't much to look at."

Pause.

"You should know that it has had much worse days. I know, I was the first Boarder."

Leo looked at him, then looked back out to Board Manor.

"What's beyond those walls?" Leo asked.

"Nothing you need to trouble yourself with. What's out there is worse than your worst nightmare. Something scarier, slimier, more horrifying than you'll ever see-but don't scare yourself too much with your fantasies. Never need to worry about the Buggers at night, and they never come out during the day."

"Jez, I have to imagine at this place?"

Eddie gave him a glare, then continued.

"When I got here, I had no idea what to do. I climbed out of the Box over there and started to build a shelter. The first day, I went out past the walls. And I saw a Bugger. I haven't forgotten that night. Ever. I got scratched by it, and was in a coma until the next person came along. That was Eli.

"There are three rules we have at this place. Number one: Do your part. We dont want slackers here. Number two: Never harm another Boarder. We all need to trust each other. And finally, the most important rule, never, _ever,_ go beyond the walls."

The two boys stared out at the walls, and then Eddie patted him on the back and left.

Then, as eddie made his way back to the household, the walls began to slam shut. It was a long screeching noise, stone against stone, for five minutes. Leo watched all four walls close, sealing his fate of ever escaping tonight.

"All hail the Rooker!"

Laughs and shouts were heard all around the Manor as Leo was given a crown made of weeds. It was all a joke, of course. All of the Boarders were drunk on some sort of substance that came in the Box. And so was Leo.

"Speech! Speech!" the Boarders cheered in bubbly excitement.

"Alright, that's enough for tonight boys," Leo said, snapping himself out of it.

There was one Boarder that sat by the side, not watching, but drinking. There were some "boo"s and jeers as Leo walked away from his throne and toward the other Boarder.

"Eli, isn't it?" Leo asked the boy. Eli nodded.

"Leo," Leo said as he stuck his hand out. Eli didn't move.

Suddenly, there was a loud scraping noise from all around the two boys. Leo covered his ears as Eli took another sip of his drink as if the sound was nothing.

After the scraping stopped, Eli spoke:

"Ya hear that?" Eli said. He had a British accent.

"Yeah! How could I not have?"

"It's the maze. It's changing."

"What! There's a ma-"

"Haven't you given a bloody thought 'bout what's beyond the wall? It's a maze, and we're trapped here. Trapped inside this bloody hell hole. Those Shags don't understand that we're trapped here. They think that there's still a chance of finding a way out."

Silence.

More silence.

Leo pondered what Eli had said. _Maze. Walls. No escape._ The words flooded through his head, not quite processing.

"So, there's no escape?" Leo asked.

Eli shook his head.

"Well, I'm gonna head to bed," Eli said through the silence. Leo just nodded and stared at the closed walls. To him, the entire maze felt like a prison already, the walls just iron bars restraining him.

And everyone else here were his cell mates.


End file.
